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How to get started growing fruits and vegetables as a beginner?

Hi I want to start gardening but I’m very overwhelmed with all the information about what kind of raised bed is safe metal, pots, treated woods, untreated woods or plant on native soil. What is the best way to start growing organic fruits and vegetables for beginner. Please help.

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MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @sebriya. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about growing vegetables and fruit trees.

It sounds like what you’re really trying to figure out is whether to grow your fruits and vegetables in the ground or in a raised bed, and what materials are best if you do go raised. Both options can work for growing organically, it really comes down to what you want to achieve and the quality of the soil you have. If your soil is reasonably fertile and drains well, you can prepare a patch in the ground, adding compost and organic matter, and grow directly there. Raised beds give you more control over soil quality, drainage, and make it easier to manage weeds and pests, which is often why beginners choose them.

If you’re looking to go raised, metal raised beds are a great choice. They are inert, so there’s no risk of chemicals leaching into your soil, and they’re generally easy to assemble and durable. You can then fill them with a good-quality organic growing mix or a blend of compost, and other organic matter, which sets you up well for starting an organic garden.

A few tips to get started: choose easy-to-grow plants like leafy greens, tomatoes, beans, or zucchini, make sure your raised bed gets plenty of sunlight, water consistently, and add compost or organic fertiliser regularly. Starting small is also key. Focus on a few beds or a limited number of plants so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Once you get the hang of it, you can gradually expand and try more varieties.

Here's a helpful guide: Tips for starting an organic garden.

Let me tag @mich1972 for their thoughts.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Dave-1

Good afternoon @chilly1

Id like to say hello 🙂 and offer a warm welcom to the Bunnings communiyty page, There are so many different types of garden / garden beds I really get you when it fills up your mind with too many ideas 🙂

I have a couple of suggestions to help narrow down/plan what you want. And also some photos as my garden beds evolved over the past 11 years.

Sketch out the area where you are thinking of growing stuff...

01 15-11-2024.jpg

Now when I first started I did NOT have this in mind, I just wante dto grow potatoes of all things 🙂 Yeah I had some that had grown shoots in the cupboard so thought "Why not?" You could do a mix of some fruit style trees and other items you may use in your meal prep (tomatoes, lettuce, capiscium) You dont need raised beds at this point, just to have an area that you want to grow.

09 04-02-2016.jpg

10 04-02-2016.jpg

Never got huge amount of potatoes as I was growing them pretty much under the gumtrees about the place.

11 24-11-2015.jpg

My first ffort at growing potatoes, knowing nothing about them at that point 🙂 The cages were to stop stray balls and help protect the fonds.

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They were just mounds of soil with leaf mulch on top

13 13-07-2016.jpg

I then was lucky enough to see someone getting rid of timber sleepers on Facebook land so I grabbed them pronto, they sat around for awhile until I finally bit the bullet and started my raised beds trully. You can see how I was laying spare pavers directly on the compacted soil between the beds. I just removed the top 5cm of grass/soil and it was hard as rock. They stood up for all the years 🙂

14 13-08-2016.jpg

Just showing how I started, I started with 4 beds, and ended up with 8 over the years.

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I wanted to grow vines so the T posts were just screwed to the inside of the bed. They lasted 3-4 years

08 29-09-2019.jpg

I strung mesh between them and mulched 🙂

04 15-11-2024.jpg

Over the years the types of vegetables have changed. The last ones were blackberries 🙂 and Rasberries (way to prickly to pick!)

05 22-10-2023.jpg

Every year I have turned the soil by about a shovels blades worth, weeded and planted something new. Trees, probably nut type trees are my next type I will do. Tho now I am in the process of relevelling the area to bring it back to easily maintain 🙂

So the best suggestion I have, start small, dream big 🙂 Get a compost bin, move it around the area you will be growing stuff in as it will help nutrient wise. And mulch!

Oh, and I am not sure how sold Iam on raised beds over a dug plot 🙂 But that is another discussion 🙂

Dave

mich1972

Good afternoon @chilly1 If you’re a beginner at gardening when it comes to growing fruits and vegetables then my advice would be to start with the basics. I love raised beds and the colourbond raised metal gardens would be a great way to start and trial it out. If you’re happy with that , then you can add more or layout garden beds.

Could you please share with the community a few photos of your yard so we have an idea of what you have. I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much information 🌿🙂

chilly1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/61392#Comment_61392

Thank you for explaining in detail Dave-1. I have daughter who have autoimmune diseases at the moment we are managing through diet and that’s why I want to avoid any chemical as much as I can. financially it’s drain to to always buy organic fruits and vegetables. Even though I don’t have any gardening knowledge I just want to start small but grow organic but I don’t know where to start

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/93183#Comment_93183

Sorry @chilly1, I missed this one before. Have a read through this helpful article: How to create an organic garden.

Mitchell

chilly1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/61405#Comment_61405

Good morning @mich1972 my garden space is 37 squat meter.

chilly1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/112814#Comment_112814

Thank you @MitchellMc

mich1972

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/93193#Comment_93193

Thank you for sharing a photo @chilly1 you have a lot of land to start growing your own food forest. First things first, planning. Sectioning off garden beds and raising them. Looking at removing all the lawn and just starting from scratch. Deciding whether to do metal raised beds, bricked up beds or limestone blocks, sleepers , these are just examples, you will work out what is best for you and your family. Look at adding fruit trees ect. Take it easy and don’t overwhelm yourself.

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